Eat More Fruits and Veggies

May 2008
Louise Tolzmann, ND

Eat more fruits and vegetables.  They’re good for you.  We’ve all heard this so often it’s as familiar as rain in Portland, but how many of us really eat the daily 7-10 servings that experts recommend?  It’s challenging to fit food preparation into our busy lives, and fruits and vegetables, which often seem more daunting to prepare, are the first to fall off the list (or the plate, so to speak).  It’s helpful to remember why fruits and vegetables are a critical part of our diets.  

Why are fruits and veggies so good for us?  There is no single answer.  Yet one important one is fiber.  Most fruits and vegetables contain fiber, which works to help fight cancer in several ways.  First, fiber feeds your healthy intestinal bacteria, which aids in the digestion of your food and keep your immune system strong.  Second, fiber is a binder.  This means that it helps to hold onto toxins that your liver is trying to eradicate.  Without enough fiber, those toxins sit in your digestive tract ready to be reabsorbed back into your body and into your blood stream.   Third, fiber helps to move things out of your digestive tract quickly, so that those toxins are not sitting up against your colon walls for any extra time.  Many toxins are carcinogenic (meaning they can cause cancer), and as they touch your digestive cells they potentially damage those cells.  Fiber has also been found to lower cholesterol, improve your blood sugar regulation, and do a variety of other good things in your body.

Another reason that fruits and vegetables are good for us is that they contain specific anti-cancer nutrients.  These substances act in multiple ways to prevent cancer, reduce tumor growth, or even decrease metastasis.  For example, there is a group of plants known as cruciferous vegetables, which includes broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts, collards, kale, arugula, mustard greens, turnips, bok choy, radishes, and mizuna.   These plants have a very potent anti-cancer substance in them known as indole-3-carbinol (I-3C).  This entity has been found to alter the way we metabolize estrogen.  Simply, I-3C shifts the type of estrogen in your body from a cancer-growing substance into a cancer-prevention substance.  Of course there are other factors that affect this too (like genetics), but isn’t it exciting to think that simply eating some broccoli or arugula can change your hormones?

Those are two good reasons to motivate me to fill my plate up with greens.  But there are so many other colors to enliven your plate and your palate.  Eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables is beneficial.  Different fruits and vegetables contain myriad nutrients to help fight cancer.  By limiting your choices, you also limit the health advantages you could gain.  When you go to the grocery store or plan your meal, how many different colors of veggies do you see?  When you are at the market, encourage yourself to try something different.  Better yet, explore your local farmers market, find what produce is in season, and ask for suggestions for an easy way to prepare fruits and vegetables that are new to you.  With spring just around the corner, there will be plenty of varieties of greens, peas, and of course strawberries available.  And with each enticing mouthful, know that you are helping your body fight cancer.

Louise Tolzmann, ND, practices at Quest Center for Integrative Health in Portland Oregon.